Disgrace, leave us alone: IIMs

They have their minor differences and friendly rivalries. But on Thursday, the IIMs were united in dismay. Even as the directors of the six institutes went into a huddle at Ahmedabad, students and teachers voiced their outrage.

“Everyone is numb because we had hoped he wouldn’t take this step as elections are round the corner. The moot question is whether the minister is empowered to reduce the fees or whether it is the prerogative of the board of governors of the IIMs,“ said an IIM-A professor:

The move comes at a time when IIM-A was actually planning to hike its fee to Rs 1.75 lakh per annum.

The students were vocal too. “ I see this as a populist move with an eye on elections. This would translate into more interference in the administrative and academic functioning of the institute. The argument that it would help weaker sections of the society does not hold as students loans are easily available. And, an IIM grad will anyway earn upwards of Rs 7 lakh,” said Shaswat Sharma, media secretary at IIM-A.